Information about the Master education in Mental Health

Last admission in 2017

Qualification awarded: Master of Health Care

Level of qualification: 2nd cycle

Scope: 90 ECTS credits

Duration: 1,5-3 years

Mode of study: part-time

Language of tuition: English

Programme director: Jukka Piippo

A changed perspective of mental health services requires new skills

Psychiatric care has undergone some major changes during the last decades. The large psychiatric institutions have been closed down, and many people are now cared for in their homes and in different types of out-patient settings. Simultaneously the view on mental health care has been altered. Researchers as well as consumer organisations put forth the importance of patient participation as well as close co-operation with the person’s family and social network. This calls for mental health services that support the person to live a good life, despite their psychiatric disease.

The programme offers a possibility for you to develop your skills within Mental Health and Psychiatric services in a way that corresponds to the challenges described above. The programme has been developed by three Nordic universities, Mälardalen University, Arcada University of Applied Science in Helsinki, and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Gjövik. The NordMaD programme is directed to promote professionals understanding and dialogical and collaborative competences, and to increase their ability to enhance user involvement in social and mental health care.



You will study together with other students during the second cycle of MDH’s master’s degree education in caring science. However, three of the courses in MDH’s MSc programme are exchanged to the NordMaD courses. Hence, during these three courses you study together with people from the partner universities. These three courses, or modules, are organized as web-courses combined with an intensive week in each country (one every semester). During these mandatory weeks (Monday lunch – Friday lunch) students and teachers stay at the same place away from the University. Cost for travel and accommodation (shared room, but not food) for intensive courses will be financed through Nordplus.

Note: The programme is dependent of external funding, otherwise it will not start

Course descriptions

The three joint courses in the NordMaD programme are:

The Finnish Need-Adapted Approach 7,5 credits

Intensive week in Finland: Autumn 2017

Objectives: The objective of the course is for students to attain enhanced knowledge about the Need-Adapted Approach and it´s principles including aspects of developmental psychology and significance of social network and social interaction.

Management, Teams and Organizations in Health and Social Welfare 7,5 credits (PSA309)

Intensive week in Sweden: Early Spring 2018

Objectives: The objective of the course is for the student to attain enhanced knowledge about steering, organization and management as tools for development and change in the area of health and welfare. Another course objective is for students to develop knowledge about social relations in working groups.

Peer-supported Open Dialogue 7,5 credits

Intensive week in Norway: Autumn 2018

Objectives: The objective of the course is to provide a deeper understanding of the knowledge base for dialogic practices with a focus on user interaction, relatives inclusion, improved coordination and holistic thinking. The course will strengthen professionals’ ability to meet higher demands on public employees in both the municipal and specialist health services in relation to helping each user with what he or she might want of assistance and opening up the context of service delivery to include the important people in the user's social networks as a resource and source of support.



The completion of these three courses will render a Diploma supplement to your MSc Degree, describing knowledge and skills related to NordMaD.